INTRODUCTION

Global warming is the observed century-scale rise in

the average temperature of Earth's climate system.
Since 1971, 90% of the increased energy has been
stored in the oceans, mostly in the 0 to 700m region.
Despite the oceans' dominant role in energy storage,
the term "global warming" is also used to refer to
increases in average temperature of the air and sea at
Earth's surface. Since the early 20th century, the global
air and sea surface temperature has increased about
0.8 C (1.4 F), with about two-thirds of the increase
occurring since 1980. Each of the last three decades
has been successively warmer at the Earth's surface
than any preceding decade since 1850.
Human influence has been detected in warming of the
atmosphere and the ocean, in changes in the global
water cycle, in reductions in snow and ice, in global
mean sea level rise, and in changes in some climate
extremes. This evidence for human influence has
grown. It is extremely likely (95-100%) that human
influence has been the dominant cause of the observed
warming since the mid-20th century.
Future climate change and associated impacts will vary
from region to region around the globe. The effects of
an increase in global temperature include a rise in sea
levels and a change in the amount and pattern
of precipitation, as well as a probable expansion
of subtropical deserts. Warming is expected to be
strongest in the Arctic, with the continuing retreat of
glaciers, permafrost and sea ice. Other likely effects of
the
warming
include
more
frequent extreme
weather events including heat waves, droughts and

heavy
rainfall; ocean
acidification;
and species
extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes. Effects
significant to humans include the threat to food
security from decreasing crop yields and the loss of
habitat from inundation

GLOBAL WARMING
CAUSES
Global warming is primarily a problem of too much
carbon dioxide (co2) in the atmosphere-which acts as a
blanket, trapping heat and warming the planet. As we
burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas for energy
or cut down and burn forests to create pasture and
plantation, carbon accumulates and overloads our
atmosphere.
Certain
waste
management
and
agricultural practices aggravate the problem by
releasing other potent global warming gases, such as
methane and nitrous oxide.
Global warming is urgent and can be addressed
CO2 survives in the atmosphere for a long time-up too
many centuries-so it heat trapping effect are
compounded over time. Of the many heat trapping
gases, CO2 puts us at the greatest risk of irreversible
changes if it continue to accumulate unabated in the
atmosphere as it is likely to do if the global economy
remains dependent on fossil fuels for its energy needs.
To put this in perspective, the carbon we put in the
atmosphere today will literally determine not only our
climate future but that of future generations as well.
Substantial scientific evidence indicates that an

increase in the global average temperature of more

than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels
poses severe risks to natural systems and to human
health and well-being. The good news is that, because
we as humans caused global warming, large emitters
such as the United States need to greatly reduce heattrapping gas emissions by mid-century. Delay in taking
such action means the prospect of much Fahrenheit
temperature goal. Delayed action is also likely to make
it more difficult and costly to not only make these
reductions, but also address the climate consequences
that occur in the meantime.

The main causes of global warming:

It took more than 20 years to broadly accept that
mankind is causing global warming with the emission of
greenhouse gases. The drastic increase with the
emission of CO2 within the last 30 years caused by
burning fossil fuels has been identified as the major
reason for the change of temperature in the
atmosphere.
More than 80% of world-wide energy demand is
currently supplied by the fossil fuel coal, oil or gas. It
will be impossible to find alternative sources, which
could replace fossil fuels in the short or medium term.
The energy demand is simply too high.
Another issue is the non-renewable characteristic of
fossil fuels: It took nature millions of years to generate
these resources, however we will have used them us
within the next decades. Alone the shrinking supply will

not make it possible to continue as usual for a longer

time.

EFFECT OF
WARMING

GLOBAL

The effects of global warming are the environmental

and social changes caused (directly or indirectly) by
human emissions of greenhouse gases. There is
a scientific consensus that climate change is occurring,
and that human activities are the primary driver. Many
impacts of climate change have already been observed,
including glacier retreat, changes in the timing of
seasonal events (e.g., earlier flowering of plants), and
changes in agricultural productivity.

Future effects of climate change will vary depending on

climate change policies and social development.[5]The
two main policies to address climate change are
reducing human greenhouse gas emissions (climate
change mitigation) and adapting to the impacts of
climate change. Geoengineering is another policy
option.
Near-term climate change policies could significantly
affect long-term climate change impacts. Stringent
mitigation policies might be able to limit global
warming (in 2100) to around 2 C or below, relative to
pre-industrial
levels. Without
mitigation,
increased energy demand and extensive use of fossil
fuels might lead to global warming of around
4 C. Higher magnitudes of global warming would be
more difficult to adapt to, and would increase the risk of
negative impacts.[13]

Regional effects of
global warming
Regional effects of global warming vary in nature. Some
are the result of a generalised global change, such as

rising temperature, resulting in local effects, such as

melting ice. In other cases, a change may be related to
a change in a particular ocean current or weather
system. In such cases, the regional effect may be
disproportionate and will not necessarily follow the
global trend.
There are three major ways in which global warming
will make changes to regional climate: melting or
forming
ice,
changing
the hydrological
cycle (of evaporation and precipitation)
and
changing currents in the oceans and air flows in the
atmosphere. The coast can also be considered a region,
and will suffer severe impacts from sea level rise.

It is possible to identify the

human "signal" of global
warming over both land and
ocean areas.
Effects on Oceans:

The role of the oceans in global warming is complex.

The oceans serve as a sink for carbon dioxide, taking up
much that would otherwise remain in the atmosphere,
but increased levels of CO2 have led to ocean
acidification. Furthermore, as the temperature of the
oceans increases, they become less able to absorb
excess CO2. The ocean have also acted as a sink in
absorbing extra heat from the atmosphere. [76]:4 The
increase in ocean heat content is much larger than any
other store of energy in the Earths heat balance over
the two periods 1961 to 2003 and 1993 to 2003, and
accounts for more than 90% of the possible increase in
heat content of the Earth system during these periods.
Global warming is projected to have a number of
effects on the oceans. Ongoing effects include rising

sea levels due to thermal expansion and melting of

glaciers and ice sheets, and warming of the ocean
surface, leading to increased temperature stratification.
Other possible effects include large-scale changes in
ocean circulation.
Ocean Acidification
About one-third of the carbon dioxide emitted by
human activity has already been taken up by the
oceans. As
carbon
dioxide
dissolves
in sea
water, carbonic acid is formed, which has the effect of
acidifying the ocean, measured as a change in pH. The
uptake of human carbon emissions since the year 1750
has led to an average decrease in pH of 0.1 units.
[80]
Projections using the SRES emissions scenarios
suggest a further reduction in average global surface
ocean pH of between 0.14 and 0.35 units over the 21st
century.
The
effects
of
ocean
acidification
on
the
marine biosphere have
yet
to
be
documented. Laboratory
experiments
suggest
beneficial effects for a few species, with potentially
highly detrimental effects for a substantial number of
species With medium confidence, Fechlin projected
that future ocean acidification and climate change
would impair a wide range of planktonic and shallow
benthic marine organisms that use aragonite to make
their
shells
or
skeletons,
such
as corals and
marine snails (pteropods), with significant impacts
particularly in the Southern Ocean.

Oxygen depletion
The amount of oxygen dissolved in the oceans may
decline, with adverse consequences for ocean life.

Sea level rise

There is strong evidence that global sea level rose

gradually over the 20th century.
There are two main factors that have contributed to
observed sea level rise. The first is thermal expansion:
as ocean water warms, it expands. The second is from
the contribution of land-based ice due to increased
melting. The major store of water on land is found in
glaciers and ice sheets. Anthropogenic forces very likely
(greater than 90% probability, based on expert
judgement) contributed to sea level rise during the
latter half of the 20th century .[43]There is a widespread
consensus that substantial long-term sea level rise will
continue for centuries to come. Thermal expansion is
the
largest
component
in
these
projections,
contributing 70-75% of the central estimate for all
scenarios. Due to a lack of scientific understanding, this
sea level rise estimate does not include all of the
possible contributions of ice sheets (see the section
on Greenland and West Antarctic Ice sheets).
An assessment of the scientific literature on climate
change was published in 2010 by the US National
Research
Council (US
NRC,
2010). NRC
(2010)
described the projections in AR4 (i.e. those cited in the
above paragraph) as "conservative", and summarized
the results of more recent studies. Cited studies
suggested a great deal of uncertainty in projections. A
range of projections suggested possible sea level rise
by the end of the 21st century of between 0.56 and 2
m, relative to sea levels at the end of the 20th century.

Droughts and
agriculture
Some evidence suggests that droughts have been
occurring more frequently because of global warming

and they are expected to become more frequent and

intense in Africa, southern Europe, the Middle East,
most of the Americas, Australia, and Southeast
Asia. However, other research suggests that there has
been little change in drought over the past 60 years.
Their impacts are aggravated because of increased
water demand, population growth, urban expansion,
and environmental protection efforts in many
areas. Droughts result in crop failures and the loss of
pasture grazing land for livestock.

Effects of global
warming on human
health
Human beings are exposed to climate change through
changing weather patterns (temperature, precipitation,
sea-level rise and more frequent extreme events) and
indirectly through changes in water, air and food quality
and changes in ecosystems, agriculture, industry and
settlements and the economy (Confalonieri et al.,
2007:393). According to an assessment of the scientific
literature by Confalonieri et al. (2007:393) the effects of
climate change to date have been small, but are
projected to progressively increase in all countries and
regions.
A study by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2009)
estimated the effect of climate change on human
health. Not all of the effects of climate change were

included in their estimates, for example, the effects of

more frequent and extreme storms were excluded.
Climate change was estimated to have been
responsible for 3% of diarrhoea, 3% of malaria, and
3.8% of dengue fever deaths worldwide in 2004. Total
attributable mortality was about 0.2% of deaths in
2004; of these, 85% were child deaths.

Irreversibilities due
to global warming
Commitment to radiative forcing
Emissions of greenhouse gases are a potentially
irreversible
commitment
to
sustained radiative
forcing in the future. The contribution of a greenhouse
gases to radiative forcing depends on the gas's ability
to trap infrared (heat) radiation, the concentration of
the gas in the atmosphere, and the length of time the
gas resides in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the
most important anthropogenic greenhouse gases while
more than half of the carbon dioxide emitted is
currently removed from the atmosphere within a
century, some fraction (about 20%) of emitted carbon
dioxide remains in the atmosphere for many thousands

of
years. Consequently, CO2 emitted
today
is
potentially an irreversible commitment to sustained
radiative forcing over thousands of years.
This commitment may not be truly irreversible should
techniques be developed to remove Carbon dioxide or
other greenhouse gases directly from the atmosphere,
or to block sunlight to induce cooling. Techniques of this
sort are referred to as geoengineering. Little is known
about the effectiveness, costs or potential sideeffects of
geoengineering
options.
Some
geoengineering options, such as blocking sunlight,
would not prevent further ocean acidification.

Irreversible impacts
Human-induced climate change may lead to irreversible
impacts on physical, biological, and social systems.
There are a number of examples of climate change
impacts that may be irreversible, at least over the
timescale of many human generations. These include
the large-scale singularities described above changes
in carbon cycle feedbacks, the melting of the Greenland
and West Antarctic ice sheets, and changes to the
AMOC. In biological systems, the extinction of species
would be an irreversible impact. In social systems,
unique cultures may be lost due to climate change. For
example, humans living on atoll islands face risks due
to sea-level rise, sea-surf ace warming, and increased
frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.

Solutions to Global
Warming
There is no single solution to global warming, which is
primarily a problem of too much heat-trapping carbon
dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide in the
atmosphere. The technologies and approaches
outlined below are all needed to bring down the
emissions of these gases by at least 80 percent by midcentury. To see how they are best deployed in each
region of the world, use the menu at left.

 Boosting energy efficiency: The energy used to

power, heat, and cool our homes, businesses, and
industries is the single largest contributor to global
warming. Energy efficiency technologies allow us
to use less energy to get the sameor higher
level of production, service, and comfort. This
approach has vast potential to save both energy
and money, and can be deployed quickly.
Greening transportation: The transportation
sector's emissions have increased at a faster rate
than any other energy-using sector over the past
decade. A variety of solutions are at hand,
including improving efficiency (miles per gallon) in
all modes of transport, switching to low-carbon
fuels, and reducing vehicle miles travelled through
smart growth and more efficient mass
transportation systems.
Revving up renewables: Renewable energy
sources such as solar, wind, geothermal and
bioenergy are available around the world. Multiple
studies have shown that renewable energy has the
technical potential to meet the vast majority of our
energy needs. Renewable technologies can be
deployed quickly, are increasingly cost-effective,
and create jobs while reducing pollution.
Phasing out fossil fuel electricity: Dramatically
reducing our use of fossil fuelsespecially carbonintensive coalis essential to tackle climate
change. There are many ways to begin this
process. Key action steps include: not building any
new coal-burning power plants, initiating a phased
shutdown of coal plants starting with the oldest
and dirtiest, and capturing and storing carbon
emissions from power plants. While it may sound

like science fiction, the technology exists to store

carbon emissions underground. The technology has
not been deployed on a large scale or proven to be
safe and permanent, but it has been demonstrated
in other contexts such as oil and natural gas
recovery. Demonstration projects to test the
viability and costs of this technology for power
plant emissions are worth pursuing.
Managing forests and agriculture: Taken
together, tropical deforestation and emissions from
agriculture represent nearly 30 percent of the
world's heat-trapping emissions. We can fight
global warming by reducing emissions from
deforestation and forest degradation and by
making our food production practices more
sustainable.
Exploring nuclear: Because nuclear power results
in few global warming emissions, an increased
share of nuclear power in the energy mix could
help reduce global warmingbut nuclear
technology poses serious threats to our security
and, as the accident at the Fukushima Diarchy
plant in Japan illustrates to our health and the
environment as well. The question remains: can
the safety, proliferation, waste disposal, and cost
barriers of nuclear power be overcome?
Developing and deploying new low-carbon
and zero-carbon technologies: Research into
and development of the next generation of lowcarbon technologies will be critical to deep midcentury reductions in global emissions. Current
research on battery technology, new materials for
solar cells, harnessing energy from novel sources

like bacteria and algae, and other innovative areas

could provide important breakthroughs.
Ensuring sustainable development: The
countries of the worldfrom the most to the least
developedvary dramatically in their contributions
to the problem of climate change and in their
responsibilities and capacities to confront it. A
successful global compact on climate change must
include financial assistance from richer countries to
poorer countries to help make the transition to lowcarbon development pathways and to help adapt
to the impacts of climate change.